Anderson Silva sticking around longer than originally anticipated

Anderson Silva is finally starting to speak for himself, and the words do not sync up with what his manager has had to say.

Silva, the awe-inspiring UFC middleweight champ, is working his way back from a shoulder injury requiring rest and rehab for several months. “The Spider” was last in action defeating Yushin Okami this past summer at UFC Rio.

Ed Soares, Silva’s manager, has made comments about the pound-for-pound king having only three or four fights left before he retires from the sport. Silva, however, denied those claims while appearing on a Brazilian television show recently.

“I’ll fight for another six or seven years and then I’ll stop. I stopped to think about it and I’ll postpone my retirement for a little longer. Then I’ll think about TV,” said Silva (thanks to Tatame for transcribing the television interview).

Silva also discussed the possibility of a rematch with Chael Sonnen, who has made it his life-long goal of getting another shot at Silva.

“He doesn’t deserve to fight me,” Silva plainly stated. “I believe he shouldn’t be in the sport because he has no emotional control. While trying to provoke me, he makes the sport look bad. He made bad comments, offended me and my wife.

Sonnen tried calling out Silva after defeating Brian Stann. The champion, however, has remained mostly quiet in regards to any possible rematch though UFC President Dana White has said he will likely try to get the bout signed.

I like Silva’s stance a bit more, now that he’s qualified it. However, I don’t know if he will get his way.

Whether “The Spider” likes it or not, there’s a reason it’s called “Show BUSINESS”. Silva / Sonnen is a blank cheque waiting to be cashed. Of course their fight will have a sequel, it makes so much sense it should be unofficially called “Part Duh”.

I always wondered why Soares was trying to cut Silva’s legacy short. If he was losing fights or barely squeaking by on close decisions, I could understand. But even at 36, the Spider has never looked better. He’s destroying guys left and right and hasn’t shown any sign of weakening or slowing down. I know why most fighters are looking to get out around his age, but AS is king of the mountain for a reason and, so far, hasn’t given any excuse to think he won’t be for awhile longer.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but Soares has taken liberties with his translations at least once before. I take most of what he says as indirect bargaining with the UFC; it always sounded more like a way to leverage more money out of the UFC by making Silva’s future seem uncertain.

Anderson himself has gone back and forth on this. Back when he was trying to get a fight with RJJ in 2007-2008 he was saying he only wanted to fight until he was 35.

Also (I think Lord Faust hit this one on the head above me) you got to realize the more Soares puts out there that Anderson is coming down the stretch as a fighter the more he becomes worth to the UFC over his “last” fights. He’s thinking like an agent/manager, always try to make your client more of a commodity.

edub, I hate to nit pick, but beign a commodity is not a good thing. Commodity products are those without any brand recognition or differentiation (such as rice in a bin) and so their pricing is subject to supply and demand alone, while branded products of the same group can demand a higher price point (starbuck’s coffe compared to generic coffee at the big grocery store). Sorry homie, don’t be offended.

I’ve shared these same sentiments with previous topics/comments, but I’ll chime in again simply because I don’t think Anderson’s latest talk about wanting to fight past age 40 make much of a damn difference.

Anderson will be 37 years old, or just shy of it, the next time he’s in the cage. Whether he intends to stick around for 3 more years or double that is mostly irrelevant — what matters to me is the dude likely has a couple more fights left before his window, as the freakishly dominant fighter we’ve been spoiled to watch, starts to close.

Maybe a decade ago he could’ve hung around and continued to dominate at & beyond age 40, but I think it’s incredily naive to believe that will be the case in the current MMA landscape. The sport is growing in mainstream popularity by the day, and along with it the dynamic elements of the sport & its fighters. The increasingly rapid evolution of the sport is truly amazing.

We caught a glimpse of how quickly Anderson could go from invincible to downright beatable against Chael when he was slowed by the rib thing*. While not exactly the same as injury, I think father time will start to soon have a similar effect on Silva.

(*Perhaps the steroids that aided Chael’s training camp leading up to the fight and strength/explosion in the cage also had something to do with it, but for whatever reason that doesn’t get talked about).

For example, I think a Silva-Bones fight would be a pick’em if it happened now, let alone a couple years from now when Anderson is chasing down 40. And lucky for us as fans, it’s inevitable that the next big up-and-comer will be right around the corner, just like Bones came out of nowhere only a few years ago. Point being, it’s only natural that Anderson’s reign is nearing its end when you consider his age and the state of the sport. Maybe it’s already closing. Maybe it won’t happen for a year or two. But it sure as hell won’t take 5+ years to happen.

So regardless of how long he envisions sticking around, I really hope the UFC brass figures out a way to set up a couple more spectacular fights while Anderson is still *Anderson*. And normally Chael Sonnen–a guy with a 5-4 record under the UFC banner, who was suspended by the athletic commission for a positive steroid test immediately following the Silva fight, and who lost the fight anyway–would not be close to fitting that definition, in my mind. But given the lack of other available options, and Chael’s obnoxious & almost entirely baseless ramblings that the public eats right up, this is what we’ve got. I don’t expect a competitive fight but I’d be be lying if I said it won’t be entertaining to watch a healthy Anderson dominate Chael the second time around. Then he can move on to bigger & better things, like a superfight with Bones. That’s my wish for New Year’s 2012.

If Anderson does not fight Chael, regardless of his reason he is running. Give all the excuses you want, but if he passes on an opponent that almost defeated him to fight an easier guy he is a punk. You can look at all the rankings as of now, and I doubt you would find many, if any at all, that do not have Chael as the #1 contender. Anderson should be made to fight him on that basis alone if nothing else.

I want to see Silva & Sonnen go at it again… who wouldn’t? BUT I dislike Cheal so much I’d rather see him NOT get a shot and lose convincinlgy to a lower level opponent and start his dissent into obscurity… yeah I dislike him that much.

“(*Perhaps the steroids that aided Chael’s training camp leading up to the fight and strength/explosion in the cage also had something to do with it, but for whatever reason that doesn’t get talked about).”

1. It got talked about for a very long time. It was pretty much the sole topic of conversation and argument on most forums for a good 3 or 4 months. Maybe you missed those.

2. He’s cleared to use the same treatment now. So there will be nothing to use that same advantage while training, or during the fight this go around.

He was cleared to use the treatment then, he’s just not clear to enter the ring with a level of testosterone above the acceptable levels, just like Hendo, Marquardt and all the other guys who are using TRT to stay active at older ages.
It should be talked about because it was and still is blatant cheating. Period end of story…he was suspended for it even after it was taken through CSAC and Chael was caught lying to NSAC about his clearing it with the commission first. Anderson had seperated rib cartilidge and ergo was not himself.
Chael should have to work his way back to a title shot not just get to beat one guy with very little grappling ability and then get a rematch. I understand from a marketing standpoint it is the next best match to have so cool, let it happen. I think Andersons words are his attempt to let Chael think that Chael has gotten in Andersons head…and then when its too late a healthy Silva will embarass him AGAIN.

1. It got talked about for a very long time. It was pretty much the sole topic of conversation and argument on most forums for a good 3 or 4 months. Maybe you missed those.

What I’m getting at is that in the context of all this clamoring for Sonnen to get his rematch, no one seems to care too much that a) he cheated the first time around, and b) lost anyway.

No one can understand why Anderson Silva would balk at the notion of Chael Sonnen being rewarded with another title shot for the 2nd time in 3 fights… the same guy who was suspended for cheating the first time they fought, who has since not shut up with his obnoxious, ignorant, disrespectful antics towards the guy widely considered to be the greatest mixed martial artist of all time.

So I’d have to say Chael’s non-stop rambling, even when most of it is utter BS, has been incredibly effective as a smoke-and-mirrors job. We’re talking about a guy with a 5-4 career record in the UFC, who failed a test for performance-enhancing drugs. Most guys in this position would be begging Dana not to be axed, happy to even have a spot on the under card of a UFC event. But in Chael’s case, Dana is right there behind him and the vast majority of fans are demanding he get a title shot for the 2nd time in 3 fights.

“What I’m getting at is that in the context of all this clamoring for Sonnen to get his rematch, no one seems to care too much that a) he cheated the first time around, and b) lost anyway.”

-Plenty of people know he lost anyway. However, it’s kind of like RJJ vs Antonio Tarver, JLC-Mayweather, JLC-Corrales, Couture-Rizzo 1, or anyother fight that was extremely close and exciting, people clamor for the rematch. The fact that he is universally ranked as the #2 MW in the world adds to that want for most fans of the sport. People want to see champions face the most threatening opponent to their reign, and at this moment Chael Sonnen is that guy.

-You keep bringing up the cheating thing like there will be any difference for his fights after that. He is now prescribed TRT and it is cleared by almost every athletic commission in the US. The substances that created his raised levels after the first fight aren’t going anywhere. He could shoot his ass up with testosterone 2 days prior to the fight, and walk into the octagon smiling. It’s shady as hell, but that’s where the sport is at these days. Get a doctor to say you have a naturally low testosterone level, and you get to shoot up with popeye’s spinach whenever.

The bottom line is Chael sells fights well. He came within 2 minutes of shutting out Anderson last fight, he is the defacto #2 mixed martial artist in the world, and he just so happens to carry a style that looks like absolute hell to Silva. He’s also part of a division with very few top tier guys: Mark Munoz lost three fights ago, and could have easily lost a decision to Maia. Nobody wants to see Leben-Silva 2 (unless they really dislike Leben). Okami just got beat, Belfort just got beat, the Bisping-Miller winner would be a monumental underdog. Luke Rockhold, Jacare, and Tim Kennedy (would actually love to see him get a shot) are stuck over in SF right now. Hector Lombard is busy beating up cashiers in Bellator.

There’s simply not many other options, and certainly none that will be as competitive or sell as well as Sonnen.

I agree it’s the best available fight; I just think most of the surrounding circumstances are wacky.

Regarding TRT, I’m no expert buy my understanding is that while he has a pass a doctor prescribe him testosterone, he still needs to maintain normal levels. Pretty sure it’s not a free pass to be a juice monkey. When tested for the fight against Silva his testosterone level was over, and so he got popped for it. I would imagine the same holds true each of the next times he gets tested. Basically, I think it means he just needs to be more careful and monitor it more closely. Just like the Muscle mag cover boy Marquardt talked about after his last fiasco.

But fact of the matter is Chael’s levels were elevated last time he fought Anderson (i.e. he was juiced), Anderson had what certainly seems to have been a debilitating injury, and Anderson still had Chael tapping to avoid going unconscious.

Next fight should be entertaining, because of all the other drama. But competitive? I really doubt it. And I think the large faction of fans who are expecting a non-juiced Chael to have the same success against a healthy Anderson are setting themselves up for a significant letdown.

Lombard is fighting cashiers in bellator- 1,000 points for that edub, I almost spit out what I was drinking on that one.

Its true from a marketing standpoint Sonnen is the best chance and would draw the most interestn. Its a fact but Rich is right, even with TRT you still have to maintain normal levels of testosterone. Otherwise Marquardt wouldnt have been fired after it being revealed he was on it.(which btw is still utter crap)

I would love to see Miller take on Silva…that bastard is solid enough in every area to keep fighting and tough enough to hang on and get the miracle sub on the spider.

“When tested for the fight against Silva his testosterone level was over, and so he got popped for it. ”

Gross was the one who reported that, and there is actually some descrepancies in the information now. There are many different ways to compute testosterone levels, and his testosterone/test levels(?) were above the normal. But apparently, that has nothing to do with how that relates to his blood level (which was what sent Marquardt home), and technically it was legal. It’s all a very fishy situation, one which makes me wish the treatement was banned from the sport (and in turn makes the people who are on it, very suspect in my eyes).

It’s why the only reason the CSAC kept the suspension up after all the evidence was presented, was because he didn’t document his treatment correctly. Notice the final decision had nothing to do with “abuse” of the treatment, or “elevated levels”. It was from not bringing the documentation for the treatment up, and lying about made-up conversations with Keith Kizer (which is apparently just getting swept under the rug).

However, I think you’re way off if you believe Anderson is going to just run right through Chael. Taking the shot a few days prior isn’t going to dispel the advantages testosterone gives him. And healed rib or not, nothing Anderson has done since the fight has shown he is any better at defending a blast double.

Chael has a 50/50 shot in this fight, and Anderson will have to have one of the best fights of his life to beat him. It took mma’s version of Flutie’s hail mary to win the last fight. I’m not sure if he can do it again.
superdave-